Quandry: matching up transcript and SAT scores...

[Lori D.]

Hoping someone will help me think this through. All the advice I'm hearing about entrance into colleges is that you need a transcript that matches up with the SAT scores.

 

DS just took the June SAT, but didn't do as well as his PSAT results predicted he would (91% composite on PSAT; but only 84%/85% on SAT). Those SAT scores put him at a solid B for math and for the reading. BUT, he was getting high Bs and low As all through high school for math and language arts in all the programs we've done.

 

My quandry: is this going to make my homeschool transcript look dubious, if he has high Bs/low As on the transcript, but the SAT scores show a bit lower?? And if so, what should we do?

 

 

DS's goal is just to go to community college after graduating at the end of next year, so that is probably not a problem. But what if he ends up suddenly wanting to go somewhere else? And, yes, we could have him practice and then take it again, but quite frankly, I don't see him as terribly motivated to put a lot of effort into taking the SAT *again*. He did do some prep before June: he went through the motions at least, of going through the DVDs on SAT PREP, he read through the tips in the official Collegeboard book and he did a practice test... And I DON'T want to spend a lot of money, only to have it have minimal improvement. So is it really worth it in our situation to re-take??

 

Thanks for letting me vent/ponder aloud... Please, any and all thoughts and advice welcome. Thanks in advance! Lori D.

[newbie]

I dont think they have to correspond. Some kids are poor test takers, like mine.

 

You might want to try ACT, he might do much better on it and you can turn those scores in instead. Or redo the SAT, but I know my dd was not much for retaking. She kept w/her scores, which were not great, but we focused on schools that catered to her specialty , which is Lit.

[Brenda in MA]

Lori,

 

I wouldn't worry at all about SAT scores and GPA matching up that closely -- whether your child goes to CC or applies somewhere else. It sounds to me like his scores/grades are pretty close anyway.

 

I think when you read about them "matching" up, they are talking about much greater differences. I think if I was an Admissions officer and I had an application for review where a student scored less than 50%ile on the SAT in all the sections but had a 4.0 GPA from mom, I might be skeptical about mom's grades.

 

I hear you about your son's lack of motivation to go for more testing. If you/he do decided to invest more time into testing and test prep, I'd also suggest having him try the ACT. We used some practice exams from a prep book I got at the library to see if the ACT would be a better test for my son, and it was.

 

Best wishes,

Brenda

[In The Great White North]

I think when you read about them "matching" up, they are talking about much greater differences. I think if I was an Admissions officer and I had an application for review where a student scored less than 50%ile on the SAT in all the sections but had a 4.0 GPA from mom, I might be skeptical about mom's grades.

 

:iagree: They are concerned about much greater differences, even from public school students. Images of cheating or courses that are nowhere near college prep come to mind.

[Lori D.]

Whew! I am relieved. Thanks ladies! And we may look into the ACT and see if that would be a good fit for DS... Thank you for that suggestion. Warmest regards, Lori D.

[creekland]

For cc it won't matter at all. They'll do their own placement testing to figure out where a student fits into their math and English classes.

 

For a "typical" college it won't matter at all for admission. Consider retesting or the ACT if interested in merit aid or competing for scholarships.

 

For more selective colleges, it might matter for admissions and could be worth retesting or ACT.

 

In general, I fully agree that those differences would not constitute a disparity between grades and scores.